1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems that transfer broadcast content to volatile and/or non-volatile storage devices.
2. Background of the Invention
The capture of broadcast content gained major popularity with the advent of the VCR. A user was able to tune their television to a station that had a show that they wanted to save and they simply inserted a storage device (e.g., a VHS tape), moved the tape to the appropriate location, and began capturing the broadcast. Recently, other types of equipment have developed to perform similar functionality. These types of equipment include, for instance, DVD recorders (DVD-R) and set-top boxes that include digital video recorders.
Both of these types of equipment are used in a manner that is similar to the operation of VCRs. Each has its own storage device (i.e., a DVD or hard drive) and each storage device is of finite space. If a user is saving a long program, multiple programs, or begins saving the program when the storage device is nearly full, there is a chance that the program the user is trying to save will be lost. This is a frustrating problem for the average user, specifically when they want to save content when they are away from the home.
Saving Broadcast Content
Saving broadcast content in its simplest form comprises turning on the television set and pressing a button on a VCR. More recently, VCRs, DVD-Rs, and digital video recorders (DVR), include interfaces which allow users to schedule the transfer of programs at a later date or time. Using this interface, the user is able to give the device a time and a channel and when it is the right time the device tunes to the channel, and begins saving the program. This is useful, for instance, when the user is away from home and wants to see the program later.
Another modern interface allows the user to focus on a favorite program. For instance, a user may love Monday Night Football, which occurs every Monday night from 6:00 P.M to 9:00 P.M. So, the user may wish to transfer this broadcast to a storage device regardless of whether they are home or not and may not want to have to instruct the machine every time. Using the interface, the user is able to set the system to save content for the three hours on Monday night when the football game is broadcast every week.
Tuner Conflicts
However, these schemes are inadequate because conflicts may arise in the scheduling system. Typically, a system is limited by the number of tuners it has. A one tuner system, for instance can either be used to save a program on a specific channel or watch the channel, however, the system cannot save content on one station and be used to watch another station. A two tuner system can be used to transfer and watch two different stations. Situations arise, however, where the system has been given instructions to transfer multiple shows simultaneously and there are not enough available tuners to perform this function.
Show Prioritization
One technique prioritizes shows scheduled to be transferred and when a conflict arises only the highest priority show is transferred. This technique is limited, however, because sometimes a user extends a timeslot in the transfer schedule to a few minutes before and a few minutes after the actual show. The user might do this because, for instance, they might want to save part of a pre-game show for a sports event, or they might want to save content after a sports event, if it goes into overtime. Moreover, the system might automatically extend time slots by brief periods automatically to avoid missing content if the broadcaster's clock and the system's clock are out of sync or if the broadcast starts a few minutes early or late.
In such a case, a conflict may arise solely because of a user extended or automatically extended time slot. If these additional time slots are not treated as separate entities, unexpected results may occur. For instance a high priority first show may override a lower priority second show and cause the second show to not be saved merely because the first show overlapped the second show by an automatically extended minute or two. Such a result is clearly inadequate.